Any hand foot and mouth advice? At the the if my tether

[TheBeesKnee]

DS is 2 and came home on Thursday evening with a high temperature and sores on his tongue.

He has been crying or tantrumning almost nonstop for 2.5 days. Wakes up multiple times in the night crying. Won't eat. Won't drink without much cajoling. We're keeping on top of cycling Calpol and ibuprofen so not sure what else is there to do.

The noise is cutting right through me. I have a 10 day old newborn baby so trying to keep to my room and my poor DP is getting the brunt of the crying etc.

I know he's in pain and feeling like shit and I know he's 2 and doesn't understand what is going on but I feel at the end of my tether, it is relentless and I'm sure DP does too. He's taken him to the park a couple of times but he's just not himself, low energy etc..

Does anyone have any secret remedies/cures/hope that he'll wake up right as rain tomorrow?

Oh he also has sores on his lips, eye, and hands. His gums are red and inflamed. We've stopped brushing his teeth and just smear some toothpaste on because he has been crying so much even when DP is trying his best to be gentle.

Are you sure it’s definitely hand foot and mouth? And not something like scarlet fever that has similar symptoms? Do they have any rashes anywhere or red cheeks?

im a nurse albeit not a children’s nurse and also a parent and have been through HFM but if he’s really inconsolable in the way you describe, I think as both as a healthcare professional and a parent I’d want a second opinion. I also wonder if he can’t even tolerate oral hygiene, if there could be some thrush going on and causing pain. Not eating and drinking much and being unwell is the perfect conditions for thrush to thrive

HFM is absolutely hideous. It's the worst sore throat I've ever had, even swallowing saliva is like eating shards of glass. There is no way he can be expected to be anything other than very distressed. Keep going with the pain relief and if he'll eat ice cream let him live on that.

@DarkLion don't think it's scarlet fever from a quick Google, his skin is fine aside from the spots/sores.

He's just woken up again and DP went in to give more Calpol and said his breath smells bad so you might be in to something with the thrush.

He also has swollen tonsils.

@Springadorable he will tolerate yogurt so he's been mainly on that, and some pouches.

Do you remember how long it lasted?

DS caught HFM from nursery when he was 3 and then I caught it. Fuck me. My feet were so blistered I could barely walk, I couldn't eat anything except ice cream and cold soup, my hands were in excruciating pain. The doctor said "don't worry, it's only viral" and it was gone in about 6 days, but it was BRUTAL so I am not surprised he is so miserable. Sympathy for you.

You can alternate ibuprofen and calpol to keep the worst of the pain away. Give the ipuprofen about 2 hours after calpol and keep giving them both according to the instructions it makes such a difference.

You can also use this spray for the throat (check the age on this)

https://lloydspharmacy.com/products/difflam-throat-mouth-spray

Three of mine had it at the same time! Was a nightmare. They would only eat frozen yogurt.

i’m still a bit traumatised

HFM is horrible, DS was covered and he would wake up screaming in pain he really was unwell. His sister and DH got it and my god they moaned as well and had far fewer spots.

why are you keeping away from him though it really is awful

I'm trying to keep away so that I don't catch it and give it to my newborn?

Do you remember how long your ds was ill for?

So he was v ill before the sores came out and the doctors weren’t sure exactly what was wrong he head hurt he felt funny and just wasn’t right then the blisters came out and he was covered - the soles of his feet, the palms of his hand all in his mouth and it was around 3/4 days before they disappeared.

it is an odd one because there is no need to stay off school because it is so easily passed and sheds that keeping away from others doesn’t stop spreading.

So unless you pretty much quarantine and share no bedding/cutlery etc with your DP or DS there is no point keeping away from him (if that makes sense) and spreading can start from 5 days before

@Tiswa oh bloody hell now I feel terrible. Going to give him an extra big hug tomorrow.

If it is HFM spots for this those are just the hand foot and mouth. Does he have them
on the soles of his feet
scarlet fever on the other hand I would act differently!

My ds didn't suffer too badly with it, but dd caught it last year aged 2 and it was awful. The feet blisters in particular, the soles of her feet were entirely covered by 3 large blisters each. I used the viral sooth spray stuff that's handy for chickenpox, but obviously that doesn't help with the mouth :( It was a pretty bad few days. She was happiest sat in a luke warm bath, had a few each day.

Ds came home with chicken pox when dd was 2 weeks old, good luck op, it'll be a rough one few more days :(

He doesn't have them on the soles but I think there's a couple on his toes.

I don't think it's scarlet fever, he doesn't have anything on his body, his cheeks are not red. What else could I be missing?

Unfortunately they can catch it multiple times. First time my son got it while in the younger nursery room (minimal shared interactions etc as kids that age are quite separate in their play) and we breezed through with only a few sores. Second time though was about 8 months later and much worse. About 3 days of real pain and upset and then a couple of days either side of whining. I would say that although it spreads easily the dose received might matter? But if it can spread from 5 days before you're likely already exposed.

Just be thankful you don't have it too. I have every sympathy for your son. My DD has always had it fairly mildly but the first time she passed it to me. I was so I'll DH had to drive me to the GP. My hands were all blisters and couldn't move from the sofa.

I would see the GP and check for a secondary infection like strep or tonsillitis.

Tonsillitis or strep throat would be the other ones - will he let you look inside his mouth?

that said toes definitely does sound it

Poor you and poor him.
My son had HFM last year when he was one and a half and it coincided exactly with our one week holiday to Spain. I noticed an ulcer in his mouth on the flight out, although he’d been perfectly fine up to then, then next day he stopped eating almost completely and only started to eat a bit more on the flight home a week later. He also struggled with sleeping, I think one night he woke up hourly when he would normally sleep through.
We found three things he would eat - yoghurt, ice cream and this thing kids sometimes have for breakfast in Spain which is basically biscuits dissolved in chocolate milk
I remember googling at the time and everything suggested it lasts about a week and he did have it exactly a week. It was pretty intense, but once he started to feel better he then recovered completely within a day or two. Strangely the blisters on his hands and feet didn’t seem to bother him at all, but the mouth ulcers made him absolutely miserable.
I hope he starts to feel better soon- not at all what you need when you’ve got a new baby

Hfm is awful

DD had had it three times (yes) and it took around a week each time to heal. I've had it once, really bad, awful sore throat, super itchy hands, ugh.

If I were you I'd take your son to the doctor, just on the safe side

Hugs, it's really brutal, specially with a newborn, omg

I'd say it was close to a week of total misery (15-20 wakes a night, inconsolable etc) and then general cold level of grumpiness a few days either side of it. But it's hands down the worst childhood disease we've had so far (including from scarlet fever, strep and COVID)

My DD had it recently and it was awful. She was so sore. Lived on icepops for a good 4-5 days.

We cycled regular calpol and nurofen and I got a numbing mouth spray which helped a tiny bit.

But it was still so shit! Sadly the only way out is through but yes, lots of compassion for your poor little lad and for you with a newborn too god help you😢

It's bloody awful and so varied in severity.my DD caught it as a one year old and had a couple of spots ,wasn't bothered. I caught it and needed 2 weeks off work ,the pain was dreadful. My son caught it years later and was somewhere between the 2. Hope things get better for you all soon

You can get a mouth spray from the pharmacy that helps numb the pain inside the mouth. It’s not a miracle cure but helps.

My child has has HFM multiple times and it’s hell on earth. Let him eat whatever he is content with eating, remember his is in a lot of pain and lots of foods will make that worse. Dr told me I’d chocolate is all he will have let him, it’s more important he gets the calories than the nutrients for this very short period of time

I know how hard it is but please try to not get frustrated with him. HFM in children is one of the (many) reasons I’ll never accept there’s a god because it’s absolutely fucking brutal and these poor little mites don’t have a clue why they feel so bad.

He had a couple of "better"days then last night was up 1-3am screaming and inconsolable despite all the drugs 😫

Seemed in better spirits this morning so I hope we're about to be past it. Absolutely fucking horror.

Really hope he is on a fast road to recovery now and that you get a good night’s sleep tonight. I have a 3 month old as well as a toddler and having been through HFM with the eldest last year, really can’t imagine how you’ve coped with it when you’ve got a newborn as well

He's in much better spirits now thank you, spots in his mouth have subsided/gone away but there's a nasty cluster of blisters on his finger that I'm not sure about - are they HFM or something else? They look different to the ones on his face/mouth/tongue.